Polymers News and Research

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Safer gene therapy - biodegradable polymers to deliver genes

In work that could lead to safe and effective techniques for gene therapy, MIT researchers have found a way to fine-tune the ability of biodegradable polymers to deliver genes.

10 Sep 2007

Natural antimicrobial agents for food safety

Two items high on the list of public concerns are the need for greater food safety and a growing demand for natural or organic food products.

22 Aug 2007

Clemson scientists improve longevity of fluorescent nanoparticles

Clemson University chemists have developed a method to dramatically improve the longevity of fluorescent nanoparticles that may someday help researchers track the motion of a single molecule as it travels through a living cell.

22 Aug 2007

New treatment for glaucoma shows promise

Iowa State University researchers have developed a new technique that successfully treated rats for blindness caused by glaucoma.

3 Aug 2007

Nanoparticles may provide safe pain control on the battlefield

University of Michigan scientists have received a pilot grant of nearly $1.3 million from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to test whether nanoparticles can solve a pressing problem in battle zones like Iraq: how to administer sustained, safe doses of the most effective painkillers to injured soldiers, long before they can reach expert medical help.

1 Aug 2007

Scientists invent novel low-viscosity gel for regenerating human tissue

University of Delaware scientists have invented a novel biomaterial with surprising antibacterial properties that can be injected as a low-viscosity gel into a wound where it rigidifies nearly on contact--opening the door to the possibility of delivering a targeted payload of cells and antibiotics to repair the damaged tissue.

19 Jul 2007

New model for signal transduction in cells

Among the key communication systems within a cell is the Wnt signaling pathway, which regulates embryonic development and whose deregulation can also contribute to cancer development.

28 Jun 2007

Hybrid gold-dendrimer nanoparticles target and image tumors

Dendrimer nanoparticles, made of spherical, highly branched polymers, have shown promise as drug delivery vehicles capable of targeting tumors with large doses of anticancer drugs.

14 Jun 2007

New drug-delivery system using nanomaterials

Researchers at UCLA have successfully manipulated nanomaterials to create a new drug-delivery system that promises to solve the challenge of the poor water solubility of today's most promising anticancer drugs and thereby increase their effectiveness.

8 Jun 2007

New patented method for transporting medicine across the blood-brain barrier

Researchers at the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute have patented a new way of safely transporting medicine across the blood-brain barrier.

24 May 2007

Nanocomposite labeled cancer cells can be targeted and destroyed using lasers

A nanocomposite particle can be constructed so that it has a mix of properties that would not otherwise happen in nature.

22 May 2007

Safer medical implants

A pair of Florida State University researchers have received a major grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study ways of preventing the body from developing scar tissue around biomedical devices such as coronary artery stents - a problem that affects thousands of patients each year.

18 May 2007

Synthetic hard and soft tissue for humans

Missing bones after an accident? Arteries destroyed by disease? An international team of DCU researchers have begun work on ways of producing synthetic hard and soft tissue for humans that could revolutionise treatment for people affected by disease and trauma.

15 May 2007

BioForce Nanosciences sells Nano Enabler to Louisiana Tech

BioForce Nanosciences has announced the March sale of the Nano eNabler molecular printer to Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana.

24 Apr 2007

University of Delaware scientist wins NSF career award for tissue engineering

Xinqiao Jia will never forget a visitor to her professor's lab at Fudan University in Shanghai, China, when she was working on her master's degree in polymer chemistry and physics.

21 Apr 2007

Micell Technologies presents data on novel drug-eluting stents

Micell Technologies has announced that the Company will be presenting data on use of its supercritical fluid (SCF) surface modification technology for drug-eluting stents at the upcoming Society for Biomaterials 2007 Annual Meeting, April 19-21 2007 in Chicago, Illinois.

19 Apr 2007

Expression Genetics completes phase I trial of lead drug candidate, EGEN-001

Expression Genetics, Inc., has announced the completion of a Phase I clinical study evaluating the Company's lead drug candidate, EGEN-001.

17 Apr 2007

How size matters in the retention of nanomaterials in tissue

Tiny, biodegradable particles filled with medicine may also contain answers to some of the biggest human health problems, including cancer and tuberculosis.

11 Apr 2007

Cylindrical nanoparticles deliver drugs to tumors

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine & School of Engineering and Applied Science have discovered a better way to deliver drugs to tumors.

7 Apr 2007

Compounds derived from blue agave may be more effective way to deliver drugs to the colon

Compounds derived from the blue agave, a fruit used to make tequila, shows promise in early laboratory studies as a natural, more effective way to deliver drugs to the colon than conventional drug-carriers, according to chemists at the University of Guadalajara in Mexico.

3 Apr 2007